Wear yourself a Jubilee

Contrary to the on-going media splurge since Kate Middleton's wedding to Prince Williams last year, she is not the only fashionista in the royal family. This month, we pay tribute to our queen as we celebrate, in one way or another, her 60 glorious years on the throne. There are many reasons why Her Majesty has the connotations of splendour, propriety and dedication. But quietly, she secures a high rank in the elite and prestigious fashion sector. Of course, young Kate is definitely a fashion force to be reckoned with. And its not just because of her model-like frame, or the fact that she's already mastered how to compose herself in a royal fashion. On a Jubilee tour with the queen, Kate pulled off an old-school look with such chic-style and class.

Kate wearing a teal suit by L.K Bennet

The queen wearing cashmere by Angela Kelly

Old really does complement the new. On the same tour, the queen was covered in cashmere from head to toe. We see how style transcends through different ages and generations. The smartly placed darts on her jacket, with a suave accent of black proves the ageless quality of class and style; not to forget that Her Majesty was a young style guru once. She has witnessed decades of style transformations. How was she able to maintain modesty and dignity in the notorious 60s, and the rock'n'roll 80s? Well, maybe the regiments of being a royal kept her in the straight and narrow, but her designers are praise-worthy- notably, Norman Hartnell! When you are appointed as the queen's designer and dressmaker, you've pretty much reached a peak on your success graph. Hartnell, who died in 1979, had a sophisticatedly diverse porfolio, from designing the queen's wedding dress, to designing for the film 'Suddenly Last Summer' in 1969, along with several other films. Take a look at some of my favourite Hartnell pieces. (Pictures from 'My Richard Curtis London').

The Queen's wedding- 1947. Decorated with 10, 000 bead pearls with thousands of white crystal beads. The embroidery consisted of different symbols from the commonwealth countries.

Can you spot them/know what they are?

Heavily adorned silk gown worn at the House of Representatives (Lagos, Nigeria. 1956)

Cream gown with blue embroidery (Canada and USA tour in 1957)

For more on the queen and fashion, I personally recommend Jane Eastoe's book 'Reigning in Style'. For fashion lovers and admirers of the Queen, this book is perfect for learning what has made her wardrobe so exquisite and agelessly feminine. What are your thoughts on vintage fashion?